Why the Buccaneers can (and can’t) win with Tom Brady

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are chasing after a championship

We’ve now had the opportunity to see two weeks with Tom Brady at the helm for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Through his first two games as the leader of the Buccaneers offense, Brady has completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 456 yards and three touchdowns to three interceptions. He also has a rushing touchdown.

Tampa Bay picked up its first win of the season Sunday afternoon with a 31-17 victory over the Carolina Panthers and they’re now looking ahead to a road matchup with the Denver Broncos.

Looking back at the first two weeks of the season, here’s why the Buccaneers can (and can’t) accomplish their goals with Tom Brady at the helm.

Why the Buccaneers can (and can’t) win with Tom Brady at quarterback

We’re going to start off by talking a little bit about why the Buccaneers can compete for a championship with Brady at quarterback and it’s probably just easier to list out the reasons:

• Brady’s arm strength & accuracy are largely still there
• He has a veteran presence and leadership that will help this team remained focus
• The Buccaneers defense is a major help to the offense
• Though the WRs have dropped a few passes- including touchdowns- this is still one of the most talented WR corps in the league.

If you watch Brady throw the ball, you’ll notice that the vast majority of his throws still have the same ‘zip’ on them that they have for the last few years. He has sailed a few passes and he’s left a few balls short, but for the most part he still has the arm talent to be successful in this offense and that accuracy is something that will only improve as chemistry is built with players like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Scotty Miller over the course of the season.

So, why can’t the Buccaneers win one with Brady? It’s pretty simple…

• He doesn’t have the elusiveness to stay upright for an entire season with that offensive line in front of him.

The point? There’s only one thing standing between this Tampa Bay team and being legitimate competitors for a championship and it largely has nothing to do with Tom Brady.

Brady has shown that he has the capacity to be successful in this offense and run it effectively. His chemistry and mistakes are only going to improve with more time on the field.

But, for the Bucs to be successful for the 2020 season, the onus now rests on the offensive line.

Can they pass-protect well enough to keep the pocket-passer in Brady upright? He’s not going to be able to run around for his life and that means the offensive line is going to have to do a better job of protecting him for this offense to have success.